The Big "Mo"

I just got back from fishing the Missouri River near Craig, Montana.  Awesome trip and I highly recommend it anyone.  My buddy Matt from work has a friend Jordan living in Helena which is a great base camp.  Not that Craig isn't fun but a town of 100 with 150 driftboats has limited night life (tap room scene is doing well in Montana FYI).

We got to the river Thursday morning and had to stop by Headhunter Fly Shop.  Headhunters has probably one of the best report/blogs http://www.headhuntersflyshop.com/blog-fishing-report/

We picked up the hot flies and put in right below Holter Dam.  It is a big dam and they are letting a lot of water out - over 8,500 cfs and the bumped the flow to 10,000 that day (ideal range is 3,000 to 4,000, or so I've been told).

 

I put on my freshly pink painted anchor and we were ready to go.  A little side note - I spray paint my anchors because I have lost them either in the river or by leaving at the boat ramp.  The pink really stands out and I received many complements on it.  If you're in Craig and see pink anchors let me know, I think I started a trend.



Thursday was really difficult with 30-40 mph winds and trying to figure out a pattern.  We did manage some nice fish however.  Friday was lights out - we double floated the river and found the hot sow bug fly.  The 3 of us hooked about 50 fish but had a hard time landing some of the larger fish because we'd put the anchor down to not blow by our spots but reeling a 20+ inch fish into the current has many variables that often go wrong. 

Buffs are fashionable on the Missouri and it beats sunscreen - I even find them cool just to wear.

Really the main stretch with the highest density of fish is the bridge at Wolf Creek to Craig.  It is about 3.5 miles of river but you can really work sections and with lower water wade around islands.

Above is a shot at the Wolf Creek bridge.  In general they call the Missouri the largest spring creek.  It is a big river but fairly easy to fish.  We indicator fished almost exclusively and needed 2 BB split shot to get down in many spots.  Flies are your typical tailwater selection of sow bugs, lightning bugs, San Juan worms, midges and may flies.

Almost all fish were in the 18-20 inch mark with a handful outside the range. 

There are lots of fish, and lots of people.  We got on the river at 7:00 am and did a double float to avoid the crowds as everyone floated down the river.  Overall great trip, phenomenal fish and very good fishing.  I'm sure I'd be amazed to see the epic dry fly fishing mentioned in the Fly Fish Film Tour movie "Sipping Dry" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPWiIvwM1vQ

Get a guide, do it your self, whatever, it's just fun to fish new water.

What happend to summer?

July was going along great - good SMB popper action and then last weekend happened.  It was a 45 degree drop from the previous week's high to the low Saturday.  We were wet wading to cool off and then Saturday we did it to warm up.

What was weird is how it triggers musky and pike to bite.  Friday we floated the St Croix near Grantsburg and although we managed a dozen nice smallies on topwater the highlight was Jeff's 36 inch musky on a topwater.

The best part is I didn't have my net along.  When I picked up he and Bob in the morning I said "muskies have been biting but if I put the net in the boat we won't catch one".  Of course we were in waist deep water and I had to try and grab the thing.  The water was really low and we (me) dragged the boat a lot.

Saturday it actually got colder and cloudier.  Smallies slowed more but the pike started biting.  I caught this beauty on a flash tail streamer on a jig hook (PS I think that helps the hook setting - note the fly in the top of the mouth).

Going to do an evening float Monday and then Mississippi Friday.  I'll try and take less grip and grin photos.

Musky Fly Time

It's winter now and I've been working on some great musky flies.  But before I get to that - take a look at this video I was slow on uploading.  This was a 36 incher caught on the Namekagon in late October.

Underwater Musky Release from >Charles Metzig on Vimeo.

I've been working on a bunch of musky flies.  Most the Supercharger by Jared Ehlers - here's a pic.

 

You do go through an entire packet of Flasabou per fly.

 

Here are the video links for tying (it is pretty quick and easy).

Supercharger Part 1

Supercharger Part 2

 

Next up is spinning deer hair for heads.  But first I head to Florida for a little redfishing.



Musky on the Fly

Fished the Namekagon last Saturday for a full day float with Matt and Brian.  We had 8 musky bites on flies but only got one in the boat.  Brian had one hit and a great hook set but somehow she came unbuttoned.  The river was super clear which was expected with the lack of rain - unfortunately there was a lot to look at and Matt and I both missed fish that were on our fly next to the boat while looking at others.  In total we saw maybe 10-12 muskies and caught 3 nice pike.  This was the only photo taken (it's pretty bad) - 29 incher.  I vow to start taking better photos and not just of people holding fish.

We mainly used 6 to 9 inch minnow patterns on sink tips and the fish were active.  Honestly, just about every spot that looked like it should hold fish did. 

Sunday we did a super short float (really sweetie) on the St Croix and didn't move or even see a fish. 

Musky Maddness

Just got back from our annual trip to Lake Vermilion with the work guys.  The past 2-3 years we have really focused on muskies but have yet to get one in the boat - many close calls.  That changed this year.  This fella bit my black bucktail on the second turn of the figure-8 - 46 inches.

The next morning we started out and decided why not head back tot he same spot - got this girl on the figure-8 as well but I did it for a number of times after she lost the bucktail on the first figure-8 of the retrieve.

This one was about 47 inches.  We saw 4 other fish and Matt had one bite right at the boat and turn but the fish missed - it wasn't Matt.  Basically all fish where moved on double-bladed bucktails - it was great.

We also had some decent walleye action and were a fish shy of limiting out the first day in about 3 hours of fishing and had to throw back 3 19 inchers out of the slot. 

Vermilion is awesome with tons of islands and structure to cast too.  We saw fish in a bunch of spots and it really built our confidence to finally get one in the boat.  I can't wait for next year.

I two weeks we'll switch back to the drift boat for Namekagon and St Croix musky floats.  This low water should really concentrate the fish.

Klickitat Steelhead

Brian and I are back from fishing the Klickitat River in South Central Washington and it was epic.  We fished for two days at the Steelhead Range owned by Jack and Jen Mitchell (http://theeveninghatch.com/Klickitat.htm).

The Klickitat starts from the glacier on Mt. Adams which you can see from the ranch.

This time of year the fishing gets more consistent but it can be hit or miss with visibility depending on the weather for the glacier.  The river itself was really cool.  In total we covered somewhere around 27 miles.  Parts of it were pretty dicey and I was glad I wasn't rowing.  While we were there the flows were around 900 cfs, Jeff and the crew told us it hit 60,000 cfs this spring and there were significant changes from last year.

The fishing for the most part was really easy.  We would float down and look for the troughs, buckets and slots which basically were different color than the rest because it was deeper.  We had 7 and 8wts rigged with a nymph and an egg under a big indicator and let it ride.  The takes we slow and easy but after that it was anyones' guess how crazy the fish would go. 

The guy in the front of the boat did have an advantage.  In the first 45 minutes of fishing I hooked and landed 3.  Very quickly the trip was exceeding expectations.  The picture above is me with the "Corbra" aka Jonny.

One of the best parts is that we were wet wadding.  Even though I have about $2,000 in Simms waders I really like wearing shorts and sandals when fishing.  It was cool in the morning and at night but otherwise the 50+degree water was fine.



 The wild (unclipped fish) you are not supposed to take out of the water, hence the belly in for the photos.

I botched the picture of Brian with this 20+lb Chinook

And I botched this one (my bad Brian) - here he is with Kevin and nice wild fish.

We hooked almost 30 fish in 2 days and landed at least 20.  We were having so much fun that we stopped taking fish pictures.  It also made losing some fish that went absolutly crazy easier to handle.  Some fish just dominated us.  We even tried swing flies from spey rods too.  The fishing was great and mixing in some chunky 20+ inch whitefish (not pictured), 15 inch resident rainbows (not pictured) and about 50 smolts (also not pictured) you were able to stay in the game from 9:00 am to sun set.

I highly recommend it and I will be back. 

Week of fishing and exploring

I took last week off and started the weekend by hosting my brother's bachelor party.  It can pretty much be summed up with this time lapse video.

Matt and I snuck away Saturday for the St Croix by Cty Rd T.  We had really good luck for it being overcast.  Probably got a dozen SMBs and some nice pike.  Everyting on top-water.

The pike must really hide went the water is high - because Saturday when it came down we caught a bunch - and this nice 30 incher.

Sunday morning I took Jon out on the St Croix before he left and was able to land this beauty - biggest of the year for me - 19 inches.

Right away we turned around and hit the Namekagon from Cty K to Whispering Pines.  I don't know why I've never done this stretch of river before - it is possibly the best in the area.  Flows were fast and the SMBs were slow because of the high water.  But the plus side was the musky maddness.  Matt landed this 36 incher before the middle split ring was about to give.

Matt's hit a Skitter Prop mid stream with a cool slow take.  We floated with it for awhile to tire it out before netting.  Lou had one hit at the boat while Matt and I were recovering from his fish. 

I also had 3 bit offs with the fly rod.  Unfortunatley I wasn't prepared and didn't have my 20 lb floro for a bit leader and lost some nice fish that took the Bart-O-Minnow. 

The rest of the week I explored some nearby musky lakes and also floated the Totagatic from the County I Dam to Lake Nancy Road - and the St Croix from the Gordan Dam down to Cty Rd T.  Both were awesome water and hopefully I can fish this next week. 

I have a guide trip Friday on the St Croix above Grantsburg.  The flows should be prime with the Kettle falling quickly after the Duluth area rains - the 4th is shaping up for a good weekend.

Hot St Croix Fishing

Fished the St Croix for a full day float last Friday and short float Saturday.  The flows had come down from the record highs after the Memorial Day and the fishing was great.

Friday I had Matt and Mitch in the boat - who were both in the casting zone.  We hit a stretch above 70 in Grantsburg and caught fish entirely on top-water.  Mitch casted a Skitter-Prop and Matt a Hula-Popper.  Matt took the oars I had great success on boogle-bugs and JJ-Specials. 

We caught at least 50 and even caught them shortly after a passing thunderstorm.

Mitch caught the biggest fish of the day - right around 17 inches - right after the storm.  There was nothing bigger than that but a lot in the 16-17 inch range.  The real excitement when both Matt and Mitch hooked muskies on their top water lures.  Matt's fish hit and swam right at the boat - we both got a look and he was gone.  Mitch's took the Skitter-Prop right in front of us with an aggressive take.  He got good hooks into him and he jumped straight out of the water.  We estimated him at 45 inches - and after a pretty good battle with the landing net ready he bit through (or the knot slipped - it's still not fully know).

Anyway the following day I hit the St Croix with Donny up by Cty Road T.  The flows were at 1400 (in Danbury) which is about as low as it can be for me to float there.  Donny casted great as well and was rewarded with a dozen SMBs in about 2 hours.  We also finally got some pike.  I hadn't seen many all year and was getting a little concerned.  My thought is they really hide in the grass in the those high water situations.

I have some good video to put together - but next week I have off up at the cabin - hopefully I can get some good fishing and footage in - if Lou participates.

Wisconsin Fishing Opener

I took the week off to work on cabin landscaping projects - which also happened to coincide with the Wisconsin fishing opener.  Everything was shaping up perfect except the rain.

Saturday Matt, Gus and I hit the St Croix way up by County Road T for a short and successful float (Gus really tested my knot-undoing-abilities - he's 7 and loves bombing casts).

 Matt's musky took a size 9 shallow shad rap in black and white right on the seam of this pool - it really whacked it too.

I caught this walleye in the middle of pool with a clackin-minnow.  The clackin-minnow in firetiger really works well on walleyes this time of year.  We also caught a few smallies on the smaller version of the whopper plopper which is a blast to cast.

Then the rain came.  This is the graph at Danbury and it was already a little above normal which happens depending on rain - but the increasing river levels and cloud cover cooled the fishing for Sunday. 

Sunday I missed on a nice smallie but that was it.  On Monday the fishing was better again and we hit the river right after lunch - which is really the best time for both visibility and water temp this time of year.  A few more smallies, a walleye and nice pike.

Otherwise for the rest of the week it was back to the landscaping and other cabin projects.  I broke free after lunch a few times and really hammered crappies and bluegills with the fly.  It's a real blast watching panfish slam a tiny popper or rubber ant.

Anyways, a very successful week - especially because I didn't get hurt - even though it was close.

Post Tax Season Fish

Matt and I finished up tax season last week and took Wednesday off for some Western Wisconsin trout fishing.  First we hit the Willow Race without Luke, who had made the rookie mistake of drinking with JFT at the tax party (it never ends well).

We didn't spend too much time on the Willow - probably 10:00 to 12:00.  The water was definitely off color and we only managed 3 fish.  I did however get a great brown (I think about 16 - judge from the pictures) on a size 10 black and olive woolly bugger twitched through a run. 

Matt and I ate our sandwiches in the car and took the short drive to the Kinni at F.  We had big plans for the GoPro.  We hit the first run and Matt couldn't wait for me to get everything setup so I didn't get his spectacularly jumping brown.  He did however do some great camera work on this nice brown.

Overall we had about a dozen a fish on nymphs and streamers.  The water was off color so the bigger and brighter flies really worked.  It was a lot of fun because the fish were in skinny water hammering bugs. 

Sure Brian said he had 50+ on Sunday with about 2 dozen on dries -

Kinni Sunday

Brittany and the boys took off Saturday to Arizona for spring break while I stayed home and diligently worked to finish up tax season.  Well I guess I took a little break and hit the Kinni with Brian and Matt Sunday.  I didn't want take any pictures so there wasn't proof of me having a good time while my family was gone, but Matt got some great pics - especially since it was probably my biggest trout on the Kinni.

Look at this great panoramic shot - he happened to time it perfect when I set the hook.

That brown took a size 16 olive hare's ear.  All three of us caught fish, hare's ear was the best fly but pink squirrel, sucker spawn, and pheasant tails also worked.  Flows were good and the kayakers were out in full force.  Be careful with the trees in the water - we witnessed one dump.

Matt and I are fishing again the 18th (day after tax season) - but we are going to try to do GoPro footage.  Stay tuned.



Flambeau musky

Matt, Pete, Brian and I hit the Flambeau River east of Winter off Hwy 70 Saturday and Sunday.  We had planned on flyfishing most of the time but the wind came up and I wimped out after banging a 6/0 sailfish fly off my head a few times.  For the most part weather was good and as usual I should have taken more pictures.  We did manage some nice fish - and the motorbike worked great.

We had been fishing for a few hours not seeing a thing Saturday.  Matt and I switched over to gear as we came up to a big deep hole.  On about my 10th cast I had a good hit on a jerk bait but it was on the "jerk" part of the motion and I couldn't get tight for a good hook set.  We continued to fish for a while - getting more frustrated (I'm not that good of a musky fisherman yet).  I launched a cast into the trees and pissed off I reeled back in as fast I could.  Bang, this 33 incher comes out of no where and slams the Jimmy.  We got some nice pics but Pete thought it was better watching me still shaking from a great take.

Ten minutes later this 36 incher comes in and slams the Jimmy.  It got airborne and had a few good head shakes.  Right away we thought it was a bigger fish but it was still fun.  Notice the lack of pectoral fins?

Sunday we fished a stretch just up river.  The first half by Nine Mile Creek looks great and it was good to float different water.  The fish were right where we expected them to be but a little more cautious.  Pete had a really good follow and I missed a nice fish on the same "jerk" portion but after Pete inspected the hooks we later determined that cheap hooks hitting rocks for 2 days can really dull a lure.

Brian did manage a nice pike on the fly (which we are lobbying for Pete Jr. to be named).  Too bad I didn't mange a better picture.





Overall we managed 3 muskies in the boat, 2 missed takes and saw another 3.  I have fished this stretch of river 4 times and managed a musky every time.  It was a great weekend and a good getaway for all of us - a fantastic way to finish up the year.